Nightshift

West Coast Premiere with an introduction by Sarah Cooper

Saturday, April 5, 1:00 p.m. @ 2220 Arts + Archives (w/Intro)

Saturday, April 5, 5:00 p.m. @ Now Instant Image Hall

Director: Robina Rose
United Kingdom, 1981, 68 min, DCP

Presented with CineFile Video

Over the course of a single nightshift, a West London hotel clerk plays silent witness to a hypnotic constellation of guests.

An incredible rediscovery of 1980s British independent cinema that evokes the durational cinema of Chantal Akerman and surreal feminism of Nina Menkes, Nightshift is a beguiling and dreamlike evocation of the witching hour, full of stunning images and mysterious personalities. Over the course of one night, a desk clerk (played by U.K. punk icon Jordan) works a shift at the West London Hotel, performing her mundane tasks and watching the eccentric guests float in and out of the lobby. As the night goes on, the time and space inside the hotel dissolve into a beautiful and surreal fantasy. With hypnotic 16mm cinematography by Jon Jost and whimsical score by Simon Jeffes, the film explores the labor and purgatory of the night shift, blurring the line between the everyday and the ethereal.

Distributor: Arbelos Films

Official Selection: 2024 New York Film Festival

Cast: Pamela Rooke, Anna Rees-Mogg, Mitch Davies, Jon Jost, Max Handley, Heathcote Williams

Writers: Robina Rose, Nicola Lane
Cinematographer: Jon Jost